updated 01:05 pm EST, Tue February 10, 2009

Intel holds on price cuts

OEMs should not expect price drops on Intel notebook hardware until at least June, according to industry sources. Cuts had been rumored after a drop in the company's net income for the fourth quarter, as a means of boosting sales. Simultaneously, however, it was worried that a reduction would cause significant damage to notebook builders, who in some cases may be carrying large inventories of full-priced components.

When cuts do take effect they will apply to CPUs, such as the Core 2 Duo T9600, and scale wholesale prices down by 13 to 40 percent. They may also affect the launch of Intel's Calpella platform, based on Core i7 technology. Though its deployment date has never been firmly cemented, it is now expected to launch only when old inventory has dwindled and/or market demand forces a release.

Never stops apple from not updating machines for months after people expect them to. Apple's desktops haven't been updated since April last year (for the iMac), Jan 2008 for the MacPro, and Aug 2007 (mini).